The April Fool 4
by Lune-Solei
Summary: He's back, he's bloody brilliant, and he's got all new tricks up his sleeve. Can you guess who's helping him this time?
1. The Contest

Oh my, oh my, will you look at the time?

Half past nine, do you mean?

No, no my dear Lune-Solei. It's the start of March it is!

So it is! What's it to us?

The contest, the contest::hits Lune-Solei soundly upon the head with a rolling pin:: Have you been forgetting your medicine again, then? Tsk, tsk. We must tell them about the contest!

Then why's it called "The April Fool Four"? Won't they get suspicious and think we're posting early?

It was _your_ bright idea. You deal with it.

Oh fine, oh fine. Just, no more purple pills, okay? My brain can't handle them.

It can't handle anything anyway.

Right, what about the contest?

Oh, yes, the contest! Lets tell them about the contest!

Right-o.

::clears throat::

Attention! Contest Announcement!

The Mistresses of Madness, Mademoiselles RenaYumi and Lune-Solei have an announcement!

Greetings readers of The April Fool series. I, and the wonderful RenaYumi, have concocted a contest of such grandeur, such unequivocal spectacularness, that, well, you would be a bloody fool to ignore! Now, what is this amazingly astounding contest we have that we are announcing? It is such: In honor of the upcoming event of The April Fool Four we have decided to celebrate. And knowing us, that can't be very good, now can it? Of course it can! The premise is simple dear readers!

The winners will be chosen based on three simple qualifications: correctness in answering the questions, first-come, and creativeness (because we all love correct and creative answers!). The top three responders (chosen by us of course) will receive a much coveted excerpt from the brand new, hot off the press April Fool story...two weeks before the world-wide release! And, the first prize winner will also receive a dedication and an insertion in the fifth April Fool. Exciting, no?

Now, how do you play this wonderous game, you ask? It's simple. The questions are posted below, in RenaYumi's profile, in her new one-shot (you should all read and review), and in a special story called The April Fool 4. You shall answer these ten questions (just ten, aren't you happy?) and then respond with the answers by comment in The April Fool 4, by private message, or by email to RenaYumi or myself. Simple, no?

Oh, and one more thing: It starts tomorrow, March 3, 2008 and ends on March 18, 2008 at Midnight. Sadly, no entries after midnight will be accepted.

Ready, set...GO!

What prank does Sam get detention for?

From what does Odd guarantee Ulrich will die of?

What color was Theo's first dress?

Why did Aelita betray Odd?

In Sam's opinion, what was one of Odd's better jobs?

What was the first object mentioned that Odd was struck in the head with?

How long did Sissi agree to stay away from Ulrich after Yumi told her how to get the Kool-aid off her face?

Who started the prank on Odd in The April Fool Two?

What instruments does Emily play?

Why is it bad to prank your roommate?

Good luck one and all. We wish you a happy hunting!

Message brought to you by the fantabulous Lune-Solei and RenaYumi


	2. The April Fool 4

**Disclaimer:** We do not own Code Lyoko. We only enjoy sliming the characters once a year.

**Rating:** G/PG

**Author's Note:** Greetings one and all! It is us, your Magnificent Mesdemoiselles of Mayhem: Lune-Solei and RenaYumi. Back for the _fourth_ year! We hope you enjoy our insanity, for we have worked very hard at keeping it and ignoring the purple-and-orange pills They tried to feed us. Now, there will be a chapter added after this one, showing the answers to the questions poised on the previous.

**Dedication:** This is dedicated to the Wonderfully Wittily Well-read Wave Maker who won our lovely little contest. Congratulations and we hope you enjoy it!

* * *

**April 1****st**** – 7:45am. Odd's POV**

April first comes once a year. On that day I become the king that I am. The King of Fools, the Court Jester of the highest order imaginable. I am completely in my element on that one day of the year, enjoying things such as pranking and watching my subjects (also known as the rest of the student populace) flounder and run for cover. I never said I was a good king, now did I?

Not this year though. This year I believe I have finally met my match. And it's not in the way that I would have expected. No foreign Prince of Pranks has come riding up on a gallant stallion to challenge my reign. No. This time, I was thwarted by someone much older (and with a far less sense of humor than myself). One man, named Principal Jean-Pierre Delmas, and a form of torture known as week-long detention. Hoo_rah_.

**7:46am. Naomi's POV**

The news came in early yesterday evening. Never in school history has the first morning of April ever tasted like such freedom. In my joy, shared by the entire school population, I went to bed early and set my alarm for seven. Today is beautiful. I'm going to put on my slippers, take my robe, and have a nice, relaxing shower. On April Fool's Day. It's a wonderful thing, really.

Stretching my arms over my head, I get out of bed. Picking up my things, sauntering to my dorm door and-

_Splash_

No. No. No! My eyes traveled to the top of the door. A purple bucket.

"It's probably one of the guys from physics. They would pull this sort of thing," I mused out loud. He couldn't have gotten out. He couldn't. Today will be prank free. Fool free. They locked him up bright and early! "They locked him up!" I screamed into the hall. Claire glanced my way with an icy glare. Oh, dear; oh, this is not good. And now I've jinxed it.

**10:00am. Odd's POV.**

I hate mirrors.

I _really_ hate mirrors. Especially heavy mirrors that shouldn't be heavy since they're only a piece of _glass_. I drop it into place (okay, it's more like positioning it but I'm mad at it so it's changed to "dropping") and step back, gazing at it. It's an ordinary mirror (that weighs a ton and a half) and I wave at myself. Yep, still ordinary. Argh! That means the holograms aren't working.

I heave a sigh, going to the door and glancing out. It's bright and sunlit and people are laughing and joking. No one's realized I've escaped yet. Honestly, putting Madame LeBeouf in charge of me? She sleeps more than teaches. I roll my eyes, turning back to the stupid mirror.

Something's different though. Not just with this mirror, but all of them. They're turning a foggy grey-black and I see sparks coming from the electrical outlet I have them plugged into. Oh shit… I run over to the table, grabbing my cell. "Jeremie? It's Odd. Looks like Xana wants a little action today too."

Oh how I love mutant computer viruses. _Not_.

**10:01am. Jeremie's POV **

Ms. Hertz is in a great mood. Her lecture is not being explained in her usual monotonous voice, but instead she is prancing (not a word I'm using lightly) around the room, explaining the differences in amphibian skeletal structures. Joy. We aren't ten minutes into class when my cell phone goes off. Aelita and Ulrich glance at me. It's Odd; suddenly I'm afraid to answer.

"Ms Hertz? I think Odd may have-" Her face changes instantly.

"Go. Do whatever you need to do, with whom ever you need help from. Just go. This is the first April first in five years I had coffee without worrying what it was laced with. I do not want this day ruined." Sissi scoffs from her seat as the three of us exit.

"Odd? That is not funny. Xana attacks are to be taken serious, and- ...Oh hold on Yumi's beeping in." I ended my lecture short and switched lines.

"Jeremie! We have Xana problems!" Great. If it isn't one fool, it's the other.

**10:05am. Ulrich's POV**

We're running for the factory when we meet up with Odd. He's panting and sporting a cut below his left eye and Aelita stares at it for a moment. He ignores her and me as well, glaring furiously at Jeremie as I open the sewer hole. This is going to be a fun trip I can see.

"Ya know I _do_ have some idea how serious a Xana attack is Jer. I mean, I don't see you all bloody over it. Oh no, all you do is sit at a stupid _computer_!" he yells.

"Look, I'm sorry Odd. How was I to know you weren't just kidding around?"

"I don't kid about Xana," Odd snaps. There's a scream in the distance and he looks back at the school. "Xana doesn't seem to understand that April Fools is harmless, not dangerous."

"Been hanging out with you then, has he?" Jeremie mutters before promptly descending into the hole while I hold Odd back. Aelita glances at him as she starts her descent.

"How did you get injured?"

"Mirror. Hologram. I'd rather not talk about it."

He's climbing down and I'm following, pulling the lid shut over our heads. "Don't worry about Jer," I tell him when we reach bottom. "He's just a bit high strung. You know how he gets." By the look on Odd's face though, I just _know_ Jer isn't going to be happy later.

**10:10am. Yumi's POV **

I've been sitting at the super computer, trying to remember how to run the scan when the elevator opens. About time. I didn't learn this much on the supercomputer, and really I was just trying to kill time. Swiveling, and sending up a silent thanks, I jumped out of the chair and ran to join the others, trading off with Jeremie. Oh... Jeremie looks pissed. Note to self to ask him about that later.

"I was really starting to think- Odd? How did you get out of solitary?" Odd looks pissed, too. Oh, now I get it. Scratch that last note. Note to self to avoid the subject of why Odd and Jeremie are pissed at each other at all costs. "And what did you do to your eye?" He muttered something about a hologram as we stopped on the scanner floor and I let it go at that.

Why today, Xana? I don't want to have to re-put up with Hiroki. How about tomorrow? Tomorrow good for you, Xana? I probably should have seen this attack coming. It's quite typical. The hologram mirrors are for some… celebration Sissi is having for Odd's lock up. He looks _very_ locked up standing next to me, doesn't he? The mirrors are being programmed to be like…carnival mirrors or something. Last I heard there were four or five of them that had been kept off limits from Odd and the rest of the school somewhere in the main office. But they were _hologram mirrors_. This is a typical Xana cliché. His attacks are starting to become a little too routine and foreseeable even for me. Normally, I don't have a problem with routine. Really. This is just ridiculous. The mirrors were _sucking people into them_. That is such a Xana thing to do.

"Ulrich and Yumi, I'll virtualize you two first. Odd, Aelita, hang back in the scanner room and I'll send you next," Jeremie's voice boomed over the room. Oh, Joy. That means monsters all around.

**10:30am. Aelita's POV**

Odd and I make our way downstairs slowly. He's jumpy and I'm suspicious. And it's not because he won't look at me, or because he keeps glancing around, or that when I just said his name he jumped about three feet off the ground. No, that's not the reason _at_ all.

"Odd?" He gives me another guilty look and I shake my head. I kick out, foot bouncing off a stone and it rattles along, disappearing into a side room that I hadn't noticed before. I frown, turning to look at it and suddenly he's standing there, blocking the way in. "Odd, what are you doing?"

"Scanners, remember?"

"What's in there?" I try to push around him but he grabs me around the waist and pushes me back. I catch sight of a glimmer of silver from where a sheet has fallen away. "Oh no, Odd!"

"Sh!" he hisses, looking around. "I had to stash them somewhere!"

"So you chose the _factory_?" I shake my head, dodging out of his grasp and going in, covering the mirror up again. "If Jeremie finds out…you're toast."

"I know, I know. Look…" he hesitates, thinking about it. "You know what? You go on ahead and go to the scanner room and Lyoko."

"What are you planning _now_?"

"I'm going to go back to the school. Make sure someone's there to protect the kids and all. Go on Princess and kick some Xana ass."

"Odd!"

He grins though, grabbing me and dragging me to the scanner room. The scanners are empty, waiting for us and I hear Jeremie's voice cackle over the intercom. "It took you two long enough. Ulrich and Yumi are already in trouble!"

"Eh, they're always in trouble," Odd replies, not sounding that concerned. He shoves me into the scanner and I glare at him, fighting. "Anyway Jer, we're here now so don't worry. It's not like we were doing anything inappropriate!" I glare at him and he smiles back innocently as the doors begin to close.

I don't even think, I just grab him as he tries to run off (I'm fairly certain he's more interested in his mirrors than Xana anyway) and pull him into the scanner with me. Oh, this is not good. Not good at all. We've never done this before, we could end up switched or dead or worse.

We're falling into Lyoko now and his hand is still on my arm. He leans in when we land (ignoring Ulrich and Yumi's surprised looks) and drops his voice. "Do yourself a favor," he whispers, "stay at Yumi's house tonight. Don't go back to the dorms. At all." He flashes me a smile as he runs screaming off to the nearest mega-tank.

At least it doesn't seem like that little stunt did any physical damage.

**10:33am. Jeremie's POV **

I believe my heart just stopped. Beat heart. Beat. The screen is wrong. The scanner must be messed up again. Bugged.

"Odd and Aelita!? What the _hell_!? The supercomputer pulled your cards from the same scanner." Odd laughed like a maniac. My eye is twitching. Yep. Definitely twitching. "I thought the computer was malfunctioning, Odd, but now I think it's just your _head_ that's malfunctioning!"

"Everything is fine here, Jeremie!" Aelita's voice came through the headset.

"What were you two thinking? That's completely unstable!"

"You know what's unstable?" Yumi asked. I'm almost afraid of the answer. I brought up a visual on the plateau. She was just landing from an attack. "This day. Jeremie, when you reset the return, reset it to around four this morning so I can shut off my alarm. It's obviously not a good-" She didn't bother finishing as more monsters crowded her way.

"I'm resetting to seven. You know we can't go back so far." She knows, and I'm wasting my breath.

**10:35:48am. Claire's POV**

The whole school can hear the scream.

My class is closest and we race toward the gymnasium, prying open the door to look in. Milly is on the ground, arm raised above her head, and ankle looking painfully twisted. Tamiya is standing next to her, throwing soccer balls at…_something_. We don't know what to do, if there's anything we _can_ do.

There's a thing (it looks like it's made of _fog_) that's oozing from the mirror. Little sparks appear as blue or white inside the cloud. It's taking the form of something indescribable and Emily draws in a stifled breath. I glance at her but she's staring at another mirror that's oozing the same thing.

"I thought Odd was locked up today!"

"Maybe they're something for the party?" I reply, but I don't believe it and I can tell she doesn't either. And suddenly they give a horrible, cackling, white noise type of scream, one tendril reaching for Milly but grabbing a soccer ball instead. And then they're gone.

"What the…?"

**7:00am (again). Yumi's POV **

One eye cracked, I stare at my alarm. Ugh. With a moan I roll to the far edge of my bed.

'Three, two…" There's a loud booming noise and my door flies open. Hiroki throws himself onto my bed and, the second time around, doesn't land on me.

"Happy April Fool's Day, Yumi!" he shrieks in my ear. I hit him with one of my pillows and then place it over my head. Today should just be taken of the calendar all together. Just add an extra day to February and go from March thirty-first to April second. It's a great idea the world should seriously consider. "Get up! Get up! Guess what I did to Dad?" He bounced on his knees a few times, jarring my quilt away from my shoulders. _Cold_!

"Let me guess," I mumbled into my mattress. "Something to do with rigging his briefcase to squirt him with shaving cream when he opens it?" He froze instantly.

"How did you know?"

"Psychic." Yes, I probably shouldn't tell him things like that. It's not going to stop me though. I lifted one leg quickly, kicking my blankets onto Hiroki and off of myself. I reached behind my bed and unplugged my alarm clock. The look on Hiroki's face told me, if I didn't already know, that I had averted a well thought out prank. Ah, well. It'll toughen him up a little. "I'm going to take a shower. Do me a favor and go switch the hot water valve back on, okay?" His eyes were as wide as saucers before he sighed.

"Hai, oneesan." Maybe a redo of the morning wouldn't be so bad.

**7:15am. Odd's POV**

Alarm clocks are definitely more annoying the _second_ time around. I groan, rolling over and burying my head under the pillows. Ulrich will get the alarm clock, like usual. He does, sitting up slowly and I hear his feet shuffle over to the desk (we both agreed previously that for the sake of the alarm clock, not to mention our first hours of class, that it was a safer place for it) to shut it off.

"Odd," he mutters when the beeping has ceased. "Get up." I don't move and he shuffles closer. "_Odd_."

"I don't want to."

"Get up lazy. It's your favorite day."

"What's so great about it?" I feel the bed dip as he sits next to me. The pillow is removed and the blanket pulled back slightly. Suddenly an _extremely_ cold hand is pressed to my forehead. "Youch! What are you trying to do Ulrich?"

"Just checking to see if you have a fever. Why are you lazy today?"

"Don't you remember? After I go through that horrendously long line for breakfast today Jim and the headmaster come up to me, grab me, and drag me off to no-man's land to sit and be watched by Madame LeBeouf for _detention_. So not my idea of fun."

"But you escaped once before, won't it be easier this time?" I mumble under my breath but he doesn't seem to notice. He's looking at me strangely and I squirm a moment before sitting up, staring at him.

"What?"

"Then again, who says you have to go? That you _have_ to be in the cafeteria when Jim and the headmaster are?"

Have I mentioned how much I love my roommate lately?

**8:00am Aelita's POV **

Odd wasn't at breakfast. Odd is not in first hour. Jim and Mr. Delmas have been searching the school grounds and trying to keep it a secret that he's loose. We know he's loose. We know he's loose because Jim and Mr. Delmas didn't drag him away at breakfast. For that simple reason we know - why is everyone staring at me? Absentmindedly I touch my face. Nope. Nothing. I shift from my spot on the track and look at Jeremie. He's staring at me too. Why is everyone staring at me?

"Miss?" Jim is staring at me. And when did I go from 'Miss Stones' to just 'Miss'?

"..Yes?" Everyone looked away. Except for Jeremie and Jim.

"I wasn't aware that a new student would be joining us today..." he trailed off, tilting his head. "You look… vaguely familiar." You've got to be kidding me. Did something go wrong with the return? Worried, I turned to Jeremie. He looked down at my outfit and then back to my eyes.

"Jim," he said dryly. "It's Aelita." Yes it's me! Who else would I be?

"Stones? What happened to your hair?!" I put my hand on my head. Hair was still there. I pulled a strand into my view. Hair still blonde. Wait_. Blonde_?!

Ugh. He's _loose_.

**8:15am. Jim's POV**

I leave the track, after Principal Delmas summoned me to continue the search for Della Robbia, slightly confused. I have appointed Ulrich Stern in charge of the morning's soccer lesson (who better than him?) until the substitute arrives. I still can't believe that's Stones though. She looks like a completely different girl with the pink dye out of her hair. I shake my head, focusing in stead on where Della Robbia could possibly be. Delmas and I had finally decided to split up and search separately.

I had already been to the dorms, the cafeteria again, and the music hall. I frown, passing by the vending machines and stop in my tracks. There's either a small dog or a very large rat sniffing around the soda machine. It lifts its leg and I get my answer.

"Hey! You!"

It doesn't look at me, only runs off and I chase after it. It turns a corner, and when I reach it, it's gone. Vanished. I glare, looking around. I'm by the gymnasium and the door is opened slightly (when I could have sworn I'd closed it behind me ten minutes ago) so I head toward it, wondering if the little mongrel ran inside. Stupid animals. What I find is much better though.

Della Robbia is hopping around, tapping on the holographic mirrors and yelling at them. He kicks one in particular, muttering about some sort of attacking hologram and I grin. Delmas will be thrilled when I bring the little runt in.

"Busted Della Robbia!" I yell. The blonde looks up at me before glaring back at the mirror. I love April Fools day.

**9:00am. Theo's POV **

Second hour is quiet. There's a relaxed environment to it all. I've only heard of a slight mass chaos and there has been no mass sliming of the student populace. So the day isn't going so bad. At this rate, lunch may actually be normal.

Language class is always boring. Today, everyone is thankful. I heard from one of the girls in passing time between classes that Odd was caught by Jim on the soccer field. Which only means one thing: he's actually not been on the soccer field today. His detention has brought the whole school together. You'd think it was a holiday or something.

"Theo?" I look up from my literature book to see Madame Fraise with a strange look on her face.

"Yes?" She shifted from her place in the doorway.

"There was a package left for you by someone." I stood up from my seat and retrieved the package she was holding wrapped in brown paper. Maybe from my parents? I tore open the top as I walked to my seat and something blue catches my eyes from inside the paper. Some sort of shiny material. I take it out and hold it up and it unrolls to the floor. It looks like a….

"Nice dress, Theo," Sissi snickered. I'm starting to notice a pattern. The class is in a not-so-silent laughter. Even Madame Fraise is smiling.

"Ulrich, next time you see Odd, tell him most people just give cards on holidays."

**9:35am. Ulrich's POV**

We're just switching classes when I'm grabbed roughly by the arm and pulled into an alcove. Aelita is standing there, looking at me; green eyes a dangerous shade and blonde hair curling around her temples. She looks like Odd in a girl's body. Scary thought.

"Yes?" I ask simply.

"Will you help me?" I raise an eyebrow. "I…I'm sick of people confusing me for Odd."

"I don't have any pink hair dye, sorry."

"Ulrich!" she whines. She stares up at me. "I don't want pink hair; I rather like being a blonde actually. It's confusing people. I…" She looks uncomfortable and I shift, staring at her. "Can you help me look like Odd? Purple clothes, purple splotch. Everyone will freak out."

"Aelita…when did you become so devious?"

She grins at me, hugging me tightly, already knowing that my answer is going to be a yes. "When you and Odd held me hostage for that one weekend…" I laugh, remembering it and shaking my head. Jer had been pissed at us for that.

"Alright, but we have to sneak in. You know the rules."

She grins. "I know. Thanks a lot Ulrich."

**9:37am. Yumi's POV **

Class wrapped up unceremoniously for the second time in a row today and I let myself into the hall. My lab partner, Anthony, walked out behind me and snickered.

"Just tell me so I can add it to the list of reasons why he won't live to see graduation," I demanded. I felt a tugging on my backpack and then something being stuck to the top of my head. "Anthony!" I reach up and snatch it.

"Well that's an original prank," he pointed out. I resisted the urge to shove him. The bright pink bow wais signed on the bottom by Hiroki. The boy can't just let a prank go; he has to claim it.

"Yes. Brothers, love them, right?" I asked sarcastically. He smiled, giving me a little wave, and turned off to his next class as I headed out the double doors. Odd better watch out, there's a mini fool on the loose. I tossed the bow into the nearest trash can.

"Yumi?!" Anthony burst through the doors after me. "You grabbed my notebook again!" We really need to get different colored notebooks.

"Sorry." I opened my backpack and pulled out his book when something caught my eye. I fished it out of the bottom of my bag. Another pink bow? I took my books out the bag and shook it upside down. Where the hell did he get all these bows?

**10:00am. Aelita's POV**

Ulrich steps back from me, smirking somewhat and I raise an eyebrow. He grins in response, holding a mirror in front of me and I can feel my own grin spreading across my face. Oh, it's _perfect_. I credit most of the work to Ulrich since he's the one that styled my hair and added the purple. And he's the one who sorted through Odd's clothes to find something I could wear.

"I look good?"

"You look fantastic," he responds with another grin. "They'll have to look twice to see if you're really Odd or not."

"Good." I stand and stretch, glancing at the clock. It's like a warped sense of déjà vu. I roll my eyes. "I really don't want to sit through Hertz's class again. How on earth did you all manage to before?"

"Got used to it. Left us more time to sleep second time around or try and understand."

"Ah." I flop down onto Odd's bed and stare at his ceiling. "Has he gotten you yet?"

"Oh yeah. Slime in my shampoo, clothes hung outside – at least, that was the first time around. I woke up earlier so I knew to get them before anyone else really saw them. What about you?"

I hold up my hand, ticking off the pranks. "Let's see…second time around I've so far been fortunate enough to avoid the lip gloss glue, baking soda make-up, soda shampoo, booby-trapped alarm clock – you don't even _want_ to know what it threw at me first time around – and the snake in my drawer. I don't know how he dyed my hair though. Or when."

He laughs, sitting on his own bed. "Who knows with him? He has the whole layout of the school mesmerized. You know, he was the one who found all the little secret passages throughout it?"

"A man of many talents," I retort dryly. "I'm sure Hertz would rather he focused that much on her assignments…" I yawn, sitting up and looking around as a fire alarm goes off somewhere. "Well, let's go see what everyone thinks, shall we?"

"After you…Odd." I see the smirk on his face and can't help but stick my tongue out.

**10:15am. Odd's POV**

This has to be the worst karma of all time. I was not captured in broad daylight like the first time around; that would be much too easy, right? No, instead I was caught by Jim while doing a walk-through of the gym to make sure the mirrors they're using aren't still trying to kill someone. I swear they were watching me. That's what I get for being a good Samaritan.

Now, I'm still in detention with Madame LeBoeuf, staring blankly at the wall waiting for some form of a miracle to get me out of here. It's no more fun the second time around, let me tell you. I'm sure you'd think she'd be oh-so-much entertainment, but seriously; she's still asleep at her desk. And she snores worse than Kiwi.

My phone vibrated with a new text message. Sigh. Do you know how hard it is to get anything done hands off? I've been trying to get one thing done - one thing! - for the past hour. I'd be done by now if I could just do it myself. Remind me next year to not get caught. While I'm sure Jim feels much better about himself after catching me, it's really not any help to my cause.

"Come back here! You mangy mutt!" Jim sprinted past the door after another Kiwi-gram. Heh. At least those are operational. Finally my phone goes off again and I open it.

'_Odd, where are the second set of hinges?' _

It is so hard to find good help.

"Della Robbia!" That's me! But it's not me they're talking to. I glance out the second story window to see a flash of purple zip across the open courtyard and round the side of the building. That's not suspicious or anything. It's also not on the list. Oh, this is just going to throw the whole day off. Perfect.

**10:30am. Emily's POV**

Mister Gray (he's English and detests the title of Monsieur for some reason or another) is pacing around the courtyard, rambling on to the stones below or the sky above. He never seems to look at us, whether he's in the classroom lecturing or dragging us about to study outside on the few (and rather far between) nice days of the year.

I sigh, leaning back and looking up at the tree tops and skyline of the school. I was finally able to leave my jacket in my backpack for the first time since last summer. It's a pity that such a nice day has to fall on such a horrible date. Then again, maybe it's fate, or a trick of Odd's. Wait, I think I'm giving him too much credit. There's no possible way that he can control the weather – though I'm sure he'd love to learn how.

I feel annoying little things hitting into my back and I narrow my eyes before dropping my voice to a whisper. "She at it again?"

Heidi glances behind us and nods. "She'll stop soon…" she sounds uncertain and I roll my eyes. Sophie is almost as bad as Sissi, maybe (and this is a scary thought) worse at times. Heidi gives me a reassuring smile before turning her attention back to Mister Gray.

There's a sudden crashing sound coming from the bushes and Sophie screams out in either pain or anger and there's a scuffling. My hand is stepped on and Heidi is jostled as a blur of purple goes running by. There's another yell, this time from Julien, and he's pointing at something.

"There's a dog!" he's yelling.

I look over to see Kiwi running around, diving around a corner as Jim comes down the breezeway. He's wheezing, yelling for the dog, shoving students aside impatiently. I glance up at the room where they supposedly imprisoned Odd and see him staring down, a look of shock barely visible before he turns around and marches away. When I look back at Mister Gray he's staring at us all, the disturbance breaking him from his spiel, and he looks completely bewildered, as if we'd all suddenly popped up from the ground like daisies.

I love April Fools.

**12:01:03pm Yumi's POV**

I'm not going to ask. I'm not going to ask. I glanced up again at the girl in front of me. Look back at your lunch Yumi. Mmm, mashed potatoes. Interesting. Ulrich will stop snickering eventually. If he doesn't I'm not taking him with me next year when I go 'on vacation' for April Fool's Day. I'm not going to ask. Don't ask.

"Aelita?" I can't just not ask. It's just not human. "Why do you look like Odd?" She grinned and looked at Ulrich. Jeremie lifted an eyebrow at the duo and then glanced at me. I don't know Jer. I was hoping you would. I shook my head at my boyfriend. I've given up ignoring him. It's a 'roommate' thing that he'll end up helping Odd eventually with one thing or another. Oh don't give me that smirk. I haven't given up revenge; I've just been really quiet about it. By really quiet I mean Jeremie and I have established a code and we only speak at crazy hours of the night to avoid Ulrich, Odd, or Aelita.

"Attention!" someone shrilled. Ugh! That voice! "Attention!" Against my own will I turn to see why that hyena is screeching. She's waving an orange paper over her head. "Tonight Kadic celebrates! With our resident April Fool locked up for the week, Daddy has allowed me to take over the gym for the night. We're having a masquerade!" She practically skipped down the aisles of the cafeteria placing identical flyers on every table. She stopped at ours. "I'm so happy today; I'm even inviting you, Yumi." Gee, thanks? Don't laugh. Don't laugh. Don't laugh. She walked away with a toss of her hair and I broke down laughing. I lifted up the paper. "Fool's Ball. Come dressed in masquerade apparel. Eight until twelve." Aelita took the paper from me. She would want to go.

"You want to go, Yumi?" He cannot be serious. He absolutely cannot be serious.

"Isn't that really just setting ourselves up for disaster?" I asked. Seriously. Odd probably will have the building rigged to explode.

"You know you want to." Alright, it may sound like a little bit of fun. I eyed him for a minute. "I know nothing. Odd can't pull anything major from the detention room. Did I mention I know nothing?" I'll regret this. Aelita looks excited about it... Odd wouldn't make his one time apprentice suffer, right?

"Alright."

**12:15pm. Odd's POV**

This is ridiculous. No, wait, it's worse than ridiculous. It's _simple_. I grin, shaking my head slightly as I slip out the door. Madame LeBeouf is still sacked out, head lolled back and a very unglamorous flood (it's much too…gushing…to be considered a trickle) of drool leaking from the corner of her mouth. Beautiful, no?

Its lunch time (I can tell because I'm completely famished) and the halls are pretty much deserted. See? It's so easy it's ridiculous. I'm grinning like a fool (which I am) and almost skipping down the hall I'm so happy. Jim's still going insane over the Kiwi-grams and from what I saw through the window they're working perfectly. The only thing (okay, it's really one of the things) bothering me is who's running around dressed as me. And how I'm going to get everything done but that's okay. Plans have glitches. That's why they call them plans, not blueprints.

I'm out of the building and skirting the edges of the campus toward freedom. Okay, really it's the dorms, then the gym if the coast is clear. I have emergency food supplies in my room though (unless Ulrich decided on another early spring cleaning expedition, then I'm out of luck) and my stomach is definitely demanding a refueling. There are bright orange fliers up everywhere and I can't help but grin at what I read on them.

I round the corner and run into…me. I'm staring at the same green eyes, blonde hair, and purple clothes that stare back at me every time I look in the mirror. Almost the same height and build… If I didn't know any better I'd think I was facing a hologram (good idea for next year) or one of Xana's monsters. But this is solid. It's…

"Aelita?" She grins brightly, bouncing in what I now recognize as _my_ shoes. "What are you doing?"

"Like it? Ulrich helped me. He lent me the clothes and did my hair! No one can tell the difference!" She's beaming from ear to ear and some of her hair is falling into her eyes and I can't help but grin back at her. This is brilliant. It's not in the plan but it's certainly not a glitch. No, this is genius. Like Einstein genius.

"Aelita, I could kiss you right now."

And I really could because this is perfect. No one will notice my escape, well, they will but they won't know who to go after first. Aelita just made my whole day _so_ much brighter and better. Even if I have to haul that heavy mirror back from the factory because _someone_ had to set a return to the past.

"You might not want to, Jim's on his way over. He saw me." She hugs me tightly. "Happy April Fools Odd!" And then she's bounding away and I'm the one left beaming. Yes, it's all falling into place now. Especially when Jim comes puffing up.

"Hey Jim!" I yell, dashing past him, the opposite way. It'll mean a more roundabout route but it should throw him off my trail.

"Della Robbia!" he hollers, giving chase. Oh yes, it's all falling into place.

**12:18pm. Jeremie's POV **

Aelita fled from lunch with a wink after being confused - I wonder why - with Odd again shortly after Sissi had departed to go make more copies of her flyers. Sometimes I forget that Aelita and Odd really aren't related. Yumi turned her attention away from Ulrich to look at me.

"Are you going with Aelita to this masquerade thing?" Of course I am. If I don't I'm sure Odd will find a worse fate for me. Maybe not for Aelita, but at least for me.

"Probably. He doesn't leave us much choice right?" Ulrich raised an eyebrow to my question and I choose to ignore it. Yumi groaned. From across the cafeteria there was a high pitched scream, followed by a second, and then even more chorused along with those.

"Eck!" Yumi jumped up from her seat and brushed something off her arm. The room was in an uproar. "Crickets." She made a face, leaving her lunch on the table and walking towards the door. From the opposite windows, hundreds of crickets were hopping in and across tables, quickly moving towards our side. Yep; there goes my appetite. We get up and follow her, attempting to beat the mass of students now rushing for the exits. Ulrich blinks at us.

"Where did Odd get that many crickets?" Yumi gapes at the question for a minute as we head off to the court yard.

"…Store?" She lifts her hands in utter disbelief. "I've quit asking." So have I.

**12:30pm. Sissi's POV**

After the cricket incident (I swear I'm still flicking the pests off of me) I go in search of Jim. He's looking through bushes, no doubt in search of the mutt that's apparently been roaming all over campus. He doesn't notice me at first and I glare, planting my fists on my hips and glaring at his back. Honestly, you'd think I'd get more attention!

"Ahem!"

He jerks, hitting his head on a low ledge and cursing in impressively creative words. I raise an eyebrow and he colors visibly when he sees me. "Ah, you didn't hear that, right Sissi?"

"W_ell_…I could pretend I didn't, or forget entirely if you do me one favor?"

He gives me a considering look. I smile innocently up at him. "What can I do for you Sissi?"

"There are _crickets_ in the cafeteria! Swarms of them! Get them _out_!" I screech. He winces and I smirk. "Make sure they're gone by dinner and I'll forget your impressive vocabulary."

"Why are there crickets in the cafeteria?"

"How should I know? I thought you locked the purple culprit up!" He shrugs, obviously believing that he did as well. I sigh, latching onto his arm and staring up at him with my widest, most innocent look. "Please Jim, please? It was so disgusting!"

He sighs. "Alright Sissi. Let go, I'll go make sure it's taken care of."

"Thanks a bunch Jim!" I step away, watching him walk away. He stops at the corner, glancing around quickly and I raise my eyebrows as he shrugs, looking around nervously and heading toward the cafeteria. Good. I really hate bugs.

**12:31pm Hiroki's POV **

You know, Odd's pranks are extremely elaborate and well thought out. It's very impressive. I'll have to ask him about it one day. Johnny sits down next to me as the teacher gets ready to start class. History is so useless.

"Did Yumi fall for any of your pranks?" he asked. I have been telling him what I was planning to do to her since last year. Most of which he deemed mean and cruel. On the other hand when we talked about the ones on Dad…

"Not even one!" I complained. "Do you know she went to take a shower and before she was even out of bed she told me to turn the hot water back on? I turned if off before she was _home_ last night! How did she know that? Mom didn't even know that and she was home." He shrugs, probably happy that it didn't work.

"How did she know about the time you spent all your allowance on a super soaker?"

"Because I sprayed her with it?"

"The time before that."

"Oh, that time. Because she's Yumi and she knows everything I guess." He nodded as the teacher started class. Wait for it… She picked the whoopee cushion off her seat before she sat down.

"Hiroki Ishiyama; hallway. Now." Johnny snickered and I rolled my eyes.

"Better keep your day job," he whispered.

**12:31:05pm. Aelita's POV**

I'm skipping class.

I'm actually skipping class. I guess it isn't really all that surprising since if I actually _go_ to class then they'll realize that I am, in fact, not Odd. Therefore I can't go to class. It makes sense in a backwards sort of logic, doesn't it? I think so.

I sneak alongside the bushes, making my way to the gymnasium and peering inside. The gym was closed for party preparations and I can see the mirrors set up. There's no sign of Odd though and I frown, sure that he would have been here. I turn away, wandering the grounds stealthily. It's something I picked up from Odd over the years.

The fire alarm goes off suddenly inside and I whip around, looking to see sprinklers pouring bucketfuls of water into the rooms. I feel my heart rate return to normal as the students pour out, looking extremely ticked off. Just like last year. I sigh, relaxing into my hiding space. Sissi and Ulrich come out (actually talking) and both look puzzled and Jeremie is clutching his laptop to him tightly.

I see Odd in the woods and head over, smiling and slipping up behind him. "Hey Princess," he says, not even turning around. I frown, crossing my arms.

"Did you do that?"

"Who, me? No way. That is _so_ last year. Honestly Ai, you think I have _no_ creativity?" I shrug and he flashes me an impish grin. "Came at a good time though. Ready, set, fire!" He pushes a button on the machine he'd been fiddling with and suddenly filled balloons are being launched toward the unsuspecting milling students. "Anyway, if I pulled a fire alarm, I could get arrested. No thanks. Harmless fun is the way to go."

"Right. Harmless." I snicker and he sticks his tongue out.

"You really do look good though," he says. "Ulrich helped you? I knew I kept him around for a reason. I really should be nicer to him."

"You really should," I agree. He shrugs then, saluting me and disappearing into the overgrowth. I linger a moment more before turning to disappear into the shrubbery as well. I definitely don't want to be caught.

"And just _where_ do you think you're going? You could have warned me that you were pulling the alarm!"

I spin around, shocked. "Uhm…I'm not Odd," I manage. She looks shocked, covering her mouth and I feel my lips twitch into a smile. "Convincing though, aren't I? Don't worry, I won't tell your secret." I hear a vague tune of disco and frown, glancing around.

"Go," she says. I nod and disappear into the bushes. I never thought _she_ would help.

**12:32pm Milly's POV**

If the fire alarm in the middle of class wasn't bad enough, we're now ducking for cover, being pelted with paint filled balloons. Bad right? Worse _than_ bad. Tamiya forgot the camera. Odd is supposed to be in lock up; we didn't think we'd actually have any stories to catch. Looks like we were wrong. Theo stormed past us covered in pink paint, all the while using Odd's name with a rather colorful variety of other words. We'll have to interview him later.

Tamiya glared at Jim who had finally come out of the cafeteria to shut off the machines launching the balloons.

"Do you think Odd pulled that alarm? I mean, he did that last year!"

"Please Tamiya, who else could it be? Other than someone who's helping him." Odd doesn't like to repeat himself, but it could only be him anyway. The balloons on the other hand? Completely his MO. _Mass chaos_ is his MO. This is fitting. The entire campus is in an uproar, attempting to get out of the line of fire. It's really a futile move. There's no way to get away from all the balloons. It must have taken him hours to fill them all up.

I look down at my paint splattered clothes, wrinkling my nose. I need a shower. I don't think I'll ever get the green and blue paint out of my hair. Maybe next year we'll just get the scoop from our window; enough happens in the courtyard to fill Kadic News for a week.

**12:40pm – Ulrich's POV**

Delmas is on the prowl for Odd, as is Jim. They finally got the machines shut off and were trying to organize us into…something. It reminds me of last year, when Odd set off the sprinklers – both inside and out. I shake my head, weaving in and out of students and hoping that the paint covering most of my hair and clothes will disguise me enough to escape interrogation.

Yumi and Jer are nowhere to be seen – not that I really expect them to be. They're probably off somewhere plotting Odd's demise (along with half the school) and Aelita's hiding out somewhere far, _far_ away. Especially if she's still dressed the way she was when I last saw her. Or else she's being chased by an angry mob of students and possibly faculty. Especially if Ms. Hertz's look is anything to go by.

I make it to the outskirts of the forest and climb the bleachers, sitting down at the top. I notice that most of the bottom rows are covered in something sticky looking. I can only imagine its glue. My eyes are caught by the white spray paint on the grass and I raise my eyebrows looking at it. It's a phone number and I think I recognize it as Emily's. Oh she's not going to be happy with this. Then again, it could also be Claire's.

"Ulrich!" I half turn and see Yumi down below, gesturing for me. "Come on, Delmas says he wants us all to go looking for Odd. He wants him in custody _now_." I can tell she's thrilled by this prospect, of finally having revenge on Odd. I'm pretty sure she wants to be the one to catch him.

Two girls I don't recognize pass me as I leave the bleachers behind. Judging by their enraged screams my assumptions about the seats were correct. It _was_ glue.

**12:42pm Jean-Pierre Delmas' POV**

The entire school population is looking for Della Robbia. How he managed to get out of detention is beyond me, yet part of me isn't surprised. I should call the school board and see if they'll allow me to shut down campus next year. Or at least have me committed while the school is in this uproar.

Odd is a smart boy; if he put a fourth of this effort into his school work he could easily pass up some of our brighter students. And of course we wouldn't have to chase him all over the city, practically, to make sure there aren't any homicide attempts on his life.

"Jim, get the students back to the dorms to…change. I want everyone back to class by two-thirty for last hour. I want at least an _attempt_ of education today. The Ball is officially on the basis that Odd is found before it starts. All we need is a repeat of last year." That was quite enjoyable to explain to my superiors.

"Yes sir. Alright everyone! To your dorms! Report to last hour on time! No excuses!"

This is not going to be a fun clean up.

**1:00pm. Emily's POV**

I'm debating on just staying in the dorm. Who really _needs_ to go to some silly little Ball? Especially one that _Sissi_ concocted. I groan as I reach my room, reaching out and grabbing the doorknob. Something doesn't seem right but I can't really place it.

I open the door and am ashamed to admit that I let out a truly girlish scream.

My _entire_ room is covered in white…stuff. It looks like feathers and streamers and cotton and anything under the sky. I am going to kill that little weasel when I get my hands on him. And to think that I _helped_ him last year! He is so dead this year though. If they egg him again I'll be up front with a whole bushel of eggs. Ostrich eggs.

Sissi passes in the hall, bumping a purple shoulder into my green one and giving my room a disinterested glare. "Too bad Emily," she sing-songs. "You should have invested in a deadbolt like everyone else." I did. It was intact.

I ignore her, glaring and entering the room, slamming the door on her smirking face. I am not at all sorry to say that I felt a smirk cover my face when I hear her scream as I did moments before when she opens her own door. I only hope hers is as trashed as mine.

**2:35pm Yumi's POV**

I escaped most of the paint by sheer luck; I heard someone scream with enough time to duck for cover behind another group of people and half of a door. I did, however, have to change my shirt, which isn't really all that fun. I changed into my gym top, seeing as how that's the only clothes I have at Kadic and I refuse to go into the dorms. I'm sure I smell oh-so-fresh. It's better than wet paint, I guess.

Sitting in last hour is nearly peaceful. Literature is usually a pretty interesting class anyway. The kids are pretty smart and pretty normal, most from an in between group of friends, so everyone gets along. What does this mean for us? More 'discussion' and less lectures.

Today, the teacher gave us the topic to discuss and then left. I'm sure it was for her own safety and sanity, but she left the classroom and went home! Well, we spent the first five minutes talking about the topic, because we're such good kids, and then moved on to whatever else we wanted to do. We're all trying to stay low and quiet. Something is repeatedly hitting the outside windows. When the noise suddenly stops the class stops talking and glances around.

A ring startled us and Anthony grinned sheepishly from his corner of the room before answering his cell phone. Everyone stares at him as his grin expands.

"Thanks for the update!" he laughs. Shutting his phone with a little more enthusiasm than needed he turned back to the rest of us, who are now slightly frightened by his crazy smile. "Hey Yumi?"

"…Hey what?"

"The principal caught your friend." A collective sigh of relief echoes in the room, my own included. "But Karen? They found him in your dorm." The girl in front of me groaned. Wouldn't want to be her tonight.

**2:42pm Aelita's POV**

"You are in serious trouble."

"But…"

I fall silent, unsure of what it is exactly that I want to say. I look down at my feet and scuff the yellow shoe on the hard wood floors. Jim had found me a few minutes ago, slinking around in the dorm halls and trying to get back to my room. All I wanted to do, all I still want to do, is go back to my room and change and die. Instead I'm standing in the Headmaster's office staring at my reflection in the polished cherry wood desk.

"Miss Stones, I do not know what it is that possessed you to do what you have done."

"I haven't done anything though!" I cry out. I glare at first the Headmaster who is standing behind his desk, then at Jim who is guarding the door as if they're afraid I'll run off. "_Odd_ dyed my hair and…" I trail off. It _had_ been my idea to don his clothes and I didn't want Ulrich in trouble either. I could blame it on Odd but that seemed mean.

"You skipped class and decided to dress as your rather badly behaved cousin, is that not so?" I almost forgot that we were cousins. Or supposed to be. I shrug, noncommittally. "Not to mention your previous involvement in last year's destruction of school property, is that not so as well?"

"Well, yes. But I'm innocent this time! I didn't want to go to class and get pranked!"

"Mister Della Robbia was in custody until recently." That's right; I'd still like to know how he got out. Oh wait, my disguise helped, didn't it? "I'm sorry Miss Stones, but this really is out of line. I'm going to have to give you a week's detention."

"But…!"

The door flies open suddenly, knocking Jim back by the force. I turn and see Odd standing there, panting slightly but looking defiant. He has twigs sticking out of his hair and his pants are mud and dust splattered. I remember the mirrors in the factory and I remember him heading in the direction of the gym earlier. I can only imagine what he's done. I can only wonder at what he's doing here.

"Wait, Sir! No, don't punish her. I was the one who dyed her hair yellow and left her with only a few duplicate's of my clothes to pick from. I thought with her dressed that way I could escape from detention without too much trouble and I did. She had nothing to do with it!"

He gives me a look that tells me plainly to keep my mouth shut and I do. I know this is part of his plan, and I know the others will probably pay for it later, but I also take a small, slightly guilty pleasure in knowing that I am exempt from this punishment. After all, I did help him last year.

"Della Robbia?" Delmas seems unsure of how to proceed before finally getting his speech back under control after a minute or two. "How did you get into the girl's dorm?" Odd colors and then grins.

"One of the many talents I have."

"Detention! Jim, stand guard outside this time, he isn't escaping. I'm phoning your parents Odd, and Miss Stones? You are free to go. To _class_ this time, preferably with a more ladylike hairstyle! Dismissed!" Jim escorts us out and I can hear Delmas muttering about calling the President and requesting a school closure next year. I don't think that will help.

Odd gives me a smile and mouths _It'll be alright_ before Jim pulls him down a side hallway and gestures for me to continue on to the receptionist for a late slip to hand in to my teacher.

**5:00pm Tania's POV**

Odd Della Robbia has been in one or more of my classes since the fifth grade. I doubt he even knows my name. That's okay with me, really. You have to understand how I see it; if I can graduate without Odd ever pranking me personally because he doesn't know I exist I will die happy.

His name suits him. One minute blondie doesn't know what science is and the next he's teaching the class. You never know what he's going to do. Some days I can only stand and stare. It's like a car crash; it's horrible and you don't want to watch but you can't look away. April Fool's tends to be one of those days. You just scratch your head at how the boy could pull everything he does off. Even with help every year, some of his more elaborate pranks Houdini couldn't pull off. I wonder if Odd's ever traced his blood line…

When I finally returned to my dorm to get my paint covered clothes off before last period, I heard several loud, high pitched screams. Mine was not one of them for there was nothing in my room, nothing on my clothes, and nothing above my door. Some days it rocks to be me.

I don't always hate today. Only parts of the day. The paint wasn't even that bad; and they did end up catching him.

But, I can't help but wonder what he'll come up with next.

**5:15pm Emily's POV**

I'm clean, my room is clean, I'm comfortable, the windowsill is comfortable, I'm contemplating not going down to dinner tonight at six. And the Ball, still contemplating that thing. It's not like I don't have anything to wear, because I actually do. The dress that Mom made me buy for the last Spring dance (which I ended up missing because of a cold coincidentally) and the mask I picked up in Venice during last summer vacation. And surprisingly, they match. I just don't know if I want to go.

I stretch out on the windowsill, enjoying the last rays of sunlight. The school is covered in paint, a million-and-one Kiwi's are running over the campus and Jim is still chasing them, convinced one of them is the real one. I shake my head as I stare down at it. There's a sudden scream from the direction of the chorus room and the choral singers exit the building covered in powder and feathers and I grin.

I snicker quietly, watching as Aelita runs out the dorm door below. It really is strange seeing her with blonde hair and I wonder if that's her natural color. It would make sense, since she's Odd's cousin. I shake my head, standing and staring at the dress and mask laid out on my bed. I'll put the decision off until later, after dinner when I really have to worry about it. After all, the party doesn't start until seven.

**5:45pm. Yumi's POV**

I hadn't said my goodbyes to the gang at the usual time yet, especially for an April first. I sat and listened to Aelita's story and glanced back and forth between her and our stunned friends. Jeremie sat next to her on the bench; Ulrich and I were seated in the grass, his arms lazily around my waist. Missing was one purple clad boy who had apparently turned himself in.

Odd Della Robbia? Handing himself in to the principal? That is not the Master Prankster we know.

"And then Delmas is still letting Sissi hold the masquerade?" Ulrich asked, slight astonishment in his voice. Aelita nodded. She looked rather shocked herself.

"Apparently. Jim and some other teachers have been standing guard at the gymnasium all day. The only people allowed in were setting up the DJ's stage and the decorations. With Sissi coordinating, of course."

I was really hoping to get out of that masquerade. It has 'bad idea' all over it. I mean, a masquerade would be awesome. Any day but today. Jeremie remained silent. I know we shared the same thought at that moment, but we could solve that problem later tonight. Ulrich glanced down at his cell phone sitting next to us and then back up at me as I looked back at him.

"You're fifteen minutes late getting home." Fabulous. Dad's probably already called the police.

"Great, I'll see you guys tonight." Reluctantly, I pulled myself from an otherwise perfectly comfortable position, and ran home. All the way home I tried to convince myself this was a good idea. Logic tells me that's not so.

**6:00pm. Ulrich's POV**

We enter the cafeteria and make our way to the line. The cafeteria worker gives us a smile and gestures to the basket of individually wrapped chocolates. They're shaped as masks, no doubt for the party tonight. "One each dears," she says with a smile.

Jeremie is muttering under his breath as we take our seats at the usual table. I roll my eyes, glancing around. It's still strange not having Odd around for meals. Aelita catches my look and offers a lopsided smile, reaching over and taking the tray of chocolate pudding and handing me her fruit cup. Jeremie watches the exchange silently, giving us a curious look. Sometimes he's too jealous for his own good.

"Anyway," Aelita continues, dropping her chocolate mask into the pudding, "tonight should be fun. Right? Jim's apparently standing guard outside the detention room and when we walked by I saw Odd's face staring out at us." She pauses suddenly, a frown marring her face as she twirls spaghetti around her fork. "I hope they feed him. You know how Odd loves to eat."

"He'll be _fine_ Aelita," Jeremie says, a little tersely. She glowers at him and the conversation dies at that. I stab at something on my plate, I think it's a meatball and Aelita clears her throat.

"You and Yumi seem to be doing well." I almost choke on the salad I just stuffed in my mouth. Jeremie turns and gawks at her. "Well, Odd mentioned that you two had been having problems ever since you helped him two years ago. He felt responsible."

I'm going to kill him. While he sleeps – if he sleeps. I told him that last year in complete confidence. "He was exaggerating," I reply, glaring at my food.

"Oh," she replies softly. "Well, I suppose he could have been."

She returns to her food and I look over her shoulder, seeing Nick grabbing his chocolate mask and shoving it into his mouth. Definitely not a pretty sight. His face pinches up suddenly and he gags, spitting out the chewed up bits of mask. _Ew…_I see bubbles along his mouth and realize instantly what's wrong. Aelita's reaching for her chocolate mask and I reach out, grabbing her hand.

"I wouldn't do that," I tell her as squeals and yells of disgust fill the cafeteria. "Looks like the April Fool hit again." That's low, disguising soap as chocolate. Aelita shoves her tray away from her and Jeremie chucks his into the trash can.

**7:12pm. Odd's POV**

She is late. She is _so_ late. We're behind schedule now. She knows the time frame we're working on, and how little gap we have to pull this off.

Jim left fifteen minutes ago to go chaperone the masquerade ball, locking me in here from the outside. There's just no way to pick the lock on a door when you don't know what kind it is. Not to mention I'm on the second floor with nothing but a straight drop. She better-

Finally! The door clicked and opened.

"Late!" I accused. She scowled from beneath her ruby red mask.

"I could always just leave you in here after what you pulled, jerk!" She wouldn't do that… would she?

"How much is set up?" I gathered up the few items I had in the room and followed her out. Her red floor-length dress glided behind her.

"The first quarter. I left the side doors unlocked after Jim locked them. I have to get back to the Fool's Ball before anyone realizes I'm gone. I have my phone on me; I'll call you for the switch when Jim goes to check on you." I looked at her, and then at the strapless red dress she was wearing.

"...You have your phone where?" She glared from behind the mask.

"You are seriously pushing your limits, here. Go. Now. Before I change my mind." With that encouraging and reassuring comment, I was off to get my supplies. This is really my favorite part of my holiday. Yes, the pranking is fun, but the sneaking around in the dark while everyone else thinks you're somewhere else is very ego-boosting. I love being me.

**7:15pm. Yumi's POV**

I enter the gymnasium and it's completely transformed. Streamers, glitter, a giant mask that hangs suspended from the rafters. There's also a wall of mirrors and if you stand in front of them it shows images of dancing couples that seem to come out of a past time. Sissi really went out of her way for this.

The gang is waiting for me at the pre-appointed spot and I make my way over, lifting the hem of my dress (I still can't believe I was forced into one. Or that I came) and avoiding students with potentially hazardous beverages. Aelita smiles when she sees me, eyes lighting up from behind the pink and silver mask.

Ulrich and Jeremie look annoyed, tugging at masks and outfits and Aelita smirks at them. I feel a smirk coming as well. Ulrich smiles at me but it's Aelita who speaks first. "You look great Yumi, red's a great color on you."

I smile back at her. "Thanks," I reply easily. Another girl walks by, giving me a glare when she notices my red mask – almost the same as hers. I shrug. "I guess it was a common choice." Emily appears, bedecked in purple and red and I feel a glare forming.

"I hope you don't mind…Ulrich, can I speak to you?" I mind. I mind _very_ much. Especially when he shrugs, offers her a smile and walks off with her. Yep, I definitely mind. Aelita and Jer grab my arms before I can go after them. He's dead.

**7:18pm. Jeremie's POV**

Yumi finally stopped struggling against Aelita and me and growled in my general direction when we finally released her.

"I really don't like her," she spat. Aelita giggled, trying hard not to make her any angrier.

"We know. Why don't we go dance for a few? I'm sure Jeremie won't mind…" She looked at me, eyes begging for me to help in her distraction to save Ulrich and our sanity.

"Have fun." I smiled at them, tugging at my mask slightly. Yumi turned to me, pointing to the inside of her wrist, before being pulled out under the lights by Aelita. Our code is not an exactly science really. If it was Odd could figure it out. However that is the half-hour mark for our revenge. The guns and feathers are in their safe place ready to go. It took hours to talk Yumi out of an old fashion tar and feathering after last years incident. There's a line between mean and cruel; she was clearly passing it. Just incase we had a back up plan this year.

Ulrich started back our way, eyes rolling and a smirk. Oh, that can't be good.

**7:19pm. Ulrich's POV**

We weave our way around dancing couples and nagging chaperones. She stumbles once and I grab her. Jim appears at that moment, growling. "Stern, Leduc, rules!" he bellows. We both flush and she grabs my arm, dragging me outside.

The sky is clear and the air is cold. It's spring but winter still hasn't completely relinquished its hold yet. She shivers and wraps her arms around herself, pulling me away from the lighted entrance and toward the shadows. I'm curious as to her motives but I don't say anything, understanding that she doesn't want anyone to know we're leaving. We stop just in sight of the entrance and she turns to me.

"What is it?" I ask her before manners step in. "You look great by the way."

I hear her laugh before she's silent once more. "Odd escaped."

"What are you talking about? They caught him."

"No. I saw him running off to the dorms. I don't want to cause a stir and I figured anyway he wouldn't try anything…major…again."

"You don't know Odd all that well." She shakes her head and I shrug. "Why did you tell me?"

"I didn't know if you knew what he was planning…" She hesitates and I reach out, resting a hand on her shoulder. She isn't telling me something. She inhales deeply then smiles. "Anyway, I…I think I know who's helping him."

"Who?"

"Yumi." I stare at her and she shrugs helplessly. "I didn't believe it but I saw a girl in red running away from where he'd been held. I saw Yumi tonight and she's all in red too. It only makes sense, doesn't it? And she got to the dance late." Her eyes bore into mine from behind her mask. "Whatever revenge they have planned, don't go through with it."

We're silent on the way back as I try and absorb what she's said. I don't, can't really believe that Yumi would be the betrayer, but then again it would get her out of the majority of the pranks. But her and Odd putting away their differences long enough for them to pull off pranks? I guess it could work.

"Save a dance for me later?" Emily asks with a smile.

I grin back at her. "Definitely." She disappears into the crowd and I continue on, rolling my eyes at what she said but I can't help the smirk that accompanies the image of Yumi and Odd working together. I see Jeremie staring at me and know I've scared him. Oh well.

**7:25pm. Aelita's POV**

Yumi had enough dancing as her eyes flicker across the floor. She looks annoyed. She sees Ulrich back with Jeremie and pulls me back to them.

"Jeremie, we need to go now." Uh oh. Must be revenge time.

"Now?"

"Yes." Ulrich snorts, coming around the two to stand next to Yumi. They're going to do something drastic aren't they? Jeremie sighs and looks between myself and Ulrich.

"We'll be back."

"Have fun," Ulrich says, his comment laced with sarcasm. "Yumi? Try not to get arrested. And I promised Emily a dance, don't try to kill her okay?" Yumi narrows her eyes at him. Here we go again.

To everyone's surprise, she leans in and plants a kiss on his cheek, leaving a print from her red lipstick.

"I'll try if you promise to keep your mouth shut to that roommate of yours." He rolls his eyes in silent agreement. I'm sure he'll tell him tomorrow. And Yumi will get her revenge on Emily another day. Without another word Jeremie and Yumi exit the gym, off to hand out revenge. Like I said, here we go again.

**7:30pm. Odd's POV**

I creep around the bushes outside the gymnasium. There aren't any windows here, unfortunately, but that doesn't really matter. Sissi was really a help this year, throwing a masquerade ball. Okay, yeah, it was supposed to celebrate my capture but who cares? Masks and different clothing (not to mention having my hair down for once) and no one knows it's me. Perfect, right? I thought so.

My mask isn't even purple. It's white and green actually. Purity. Innocence. Every thing that I am; or everything I'm not. It really depends on who you ask as to what the answer will be. I enter the gym and see Ulrich and Emily talking, they're laughing and I get the feeling that they're pretty much flirting – though I really doubt Ulrich would _know_ flirting whether or not he's the one doing it. Aelita's giggling next to them and I smirk, watching as Ulrich offers to dance with Emily.

It's a good thing Yumi isn't around. Somehow I doubt she'd like seeing her boyfriend slow dancing with her arch-rival. Oh, come on and face it. Emily's definitely the rival here; Sissi isn't even a factor in the equation…well…

I shake my head and walk over. I sweep a low bow to Aelita and she smiles at me, eyebrow raised. "Hello," I say, standing up.

"You'll get caught," she warns.

"Maybe, maybe not. Care to dance?" Her smile lights up her face.

"I'd love to."

"Good." I have one ear listening for the furious screams of Jer and Yumi when they discover I'm gone but the other is listening to Aelita babble on about her day and thanking me for helping her out with the principal. No big deal, I'm Mr. Innocent, Mr. Giving - it's only my nature.

"What are you…?"

Wait for it… "You'll see," I tell her. And at that moment I hear the frustrated scream from all the way across the campus. I lean in, giving her a tight hug and a quick kiss on the cheek. "Got to fly. Bye Princess!" I call.

**7:35pm. Jeremie's POV**

He was gone. He was missing. He was loose in a school full of unsuspecting students and faculty, armed and dangerous. Yumi's eye twitched and she dropped her gun to the ground, growling lowly at the empty room before us. The lock open and the door ajar.

"Jeremie! The door was locked from the outside!"

"I know, Yumi." She balled her hands into fists, knuckles turning white at her sides.

"Who is helping him?!" I set the bag in my hands down on the floor slowly. There's a rule about sudden movement and Yumi's temper. They don't go together.

She really needed her revenge. It's what helps her function around this time of year. Personally, I think Odd deserves it, too. On the other hand, who ever let him out deserves to be locked up. Permanently. Preferably in a mental ward. Everyone's in the gym. We all know what happened last year with that gym. Obviously today is not over; not by a long shot.

"Jer, I think it's time we moved on to Plan B." Plan B? Plan B was a joke. Well, it was suppose to be a joke. She can't seriously be planning on going along with it. It's a bit… extreme to say the least. She slid her mask onto her head, wiping a bit of the makeup from under her eyes with one hand while she pulled her cell phone from the front of her dress. As a side note before all my sanity is lost, I'll never understand how girls can hide things like that and not be noticed.

"Right." That was all I had time to say before she was dialing and walking, phone pressed to her ear and eyes narrowed in aggravation. We should warn someone. Evacuate the campus. There has to be something we can do.

"Elise? Yes, I'm calling on behalf of Odd Della Robbia?" Screams filled the building. Maybe Plan B wasn't such a bad idea.

**7:45pm. Emily's POV.**

Ulrich and I come to a halt, as do most of the dancers. I can see Aelita weaving her way through startled students to come to us. Her dress shimmers in flickering lights and the holographic mirrors throw her reflection (and the others as well) around and around. When she reaches us it's only moments before the mass chaos ensues.

"What was that?" she questions, eyeing Ulrich.

"Sounded like Yumi," he replies easily. Everyone knows Yumi hates Odd the same day (or rather week) every year. It's a fair assumption. "Aelita?"

"Look." She's pointing at the mirror behind us.

"What the…" I trail off.

Our reflections are there, startled and wide eyed but a slow fog is creeping in on them. The holograms are changing from people to a mist. It seems familiar but I can't place it in the time frame. It's almost like it's a distant dream that's half remembered. Aelita grips Ulrich's arm tightly, pink fingernails leaving red crescents. I think I hear her say _Xana_ but I can't be sure.

And suddenly we see a grinning, blonde face appearing. Just as the doors swing open and Yumi and Jeremie are standing there, panting and screaming that Odd's loose. We can tell because he's all around us, staring at us through the mirrors. He doesn't say anything, just grins, laughs, and presses a finger to his lips.

It's when the screams really start.

**7:45:34pm. Sissi's POV**

"No one panic!" The entire gym proceeds to panic with my words, as I take the microphone from the DJ stand and yell out over the crowd. People are pushing and shoving in every direction to escape, unsure where to run to, all terrified of a repeat of last year. That idiot never does the same thing twice. "Everyone! Exit the north doors, make your way back the dorms and wait for further instructions!"

"This is impossible!" I look over to Jim, standing and scratching his head. "The door was dead bolted from the outside." Yes it was. Couldn't the little fool at least let the Ball go on for a few hours? Would it have killed him to let me have a few hours of glory? Does he have any idea how much time, effort, money and make-up went into tonight? I hike up the underskirt of the blood red dress as I quickly try to make my way down off the stage to avoid the crowd, moving with Jim out the east doors, where the power supply room is.

"Daddy?! What is the meaning of this?!" I demand as we meet with my father.

"Dear--"

"I thought you locked him up!" There's more screams and uproar and someone shouts 'There he goes!' from around the corner of the school. My eyes travel back to my father and Jim. "Well don't just stand there!" The two run off towards the noise, leaving me standing outside the doors. I turn to glare at the hologram mirrors reflecting Odd's face on a loop.

Another complete waste of make-up.

**7:50pm. Jeremie's POV.**

Principal Delmas gets on the megaphone that Jim always seems to carry with him and starts giving orders. We are all to return to the dorms immediately. We are to retreat to our respected rooms. We are not to allow Odd to go unpunished. We are to turn him over immediately if we encounter him. He promises an alarm system especially for Odd next year. I think that'll only fuel the idiot's ego more so than ever. And cause more problems than necessary for us I'm sure.

Yumi's fuming, tugging at the red mask (it looks like blood in the dark and I can't help but worry) and mumbling all the way. I'm not certain whether it's because Odd managed to escape (again) or that we have no idea who's helping him (again) or that Ulrich's walking with Emily, Aelita, and Sissi up ahead. I'm not too pleased that Aelita's with him either you know.

Jim and the other teachers are ushering us away from the bewitched gymnasium and I pat Yumi on the shoulder. "Don't worry, we'll get him back. You know that." I'm not sure if I'm referring to Ulrich or his wayward roommate. There must be something in the air in their dorm room to make them act nuts all the time. Suddenly I see Aelita stop, grab onto Ulrich's arm (I am not glaring or fantasizing the death of one of my closest friends, honest) before turning and heading toward us. Yumi doesn't seem happy.

"Where are you going?" I demand when she's directly in front of us.

She jumps; looks guilty for a moment, than smiles widely. The moon shines in her blonde hair and she really does look stunning. I still prefer the pink though. "Jeremie!" she exclaims. "Yumi," she adds to the highly distraught Japanese sociopath. "I forgot my bag in the gym, I'm going to see if Jim can let me back in. It has my room key in it you see."

"I'll go with you," I offer quickly. Yumi looks panicked. "With Odd around you shouldn't be on your own." She laughs.

"Don't worry Jeremie, I'll be fine." Her green eyes dart to Yumi and she stares at her for a moment, chewing her lip. "I'll see you later, okay?" And then she's disappeared into the crowd behind us, students closing in on her like water on a stone. I don't like it. I feel trapped and insecure. And I have the impending sense of mortal peril, though that seems a tad melodramatic even to my own brain.

**7:51pm. Ulrich's POV **

Aelita has abandoned us, which only leads me to further believe our dear Princess knows exactly what's about to happen, which something surely will.

"Ulrich, wait up!" I turn to see Yumi, mask in one hand, hem of her dress in the other, come running towards us. "Emily." She gives her an uncharacteristically polite nod. Emily edges away a step.

"I thought you would be plotting Odd's death with Jeremie by now." She rolls her eyes, falling in step with the mass panic of students moving towards the dorm buildings.

"Please. That's already done. It's just not safe for Jer and me to be together. At least one of us deserves to escape from your friend's plot." I try not to smile as she points off in the direction of the forest, where Odd was seen running off to. (Probably another hologram, if you ask me.)

"I see. So he's my friend?"

"Tsh." She stops for a second and kicks off her red heels, holding them with her mask. "Every April first." She gives me a sarcastic grin.

"You're in an unusually good mood, Yumi," Emily notes, eyeing her dress. Yumi raises an eyebrow but doesn't respond. I, however, am not oblivious to the subtext in that sentence. Odd wouldn't consider… No. He wouldn't…

"She's right, you know. No impending doom speech? No death rant? Who are you, and where is Yumi?" I push the topic anyway.

"Ulrich, have you lost it?" She bats away my hand as I try to check her temperature jokingly. "I'll get my revenge. I always do."

"And what exactly is your revenge?" She may get her revenge, but he always gets the final say.

"Tell you? His trusted sidekick and roommate? Sorry; try again." I roll my eyes, reaching for the door of the dark dorm building.

**7:52pm. Milly's POV.**

I'm squeezed in against Tamiya and Nicholas with Claire and Gianna standing nearby. My dress is probably ruined from the amount of crinkling and stepping on but I'm still wearing my mask. I purchased it in Eze Village last summer with my parents, when we were still happy and the divorce wasn't even considered. I think.

Anyway, it's actually fairly silent – considering. Everyone's thrilled to have gotten away from Odd's prank in one, clean, non-sticky (not the same as clean, trust me) piece. I don't buy it. Tamiya doesn't seem to either. She's leaning into me, whispering quietly. "We'll get the camera, there has to be more – even if it is the usual Jeremie and Yumi revenge plot."

"Of course," I reply. Then, that thing that's been bugging me since before I realized finally surfaces. "Why is the dorm so dark?"

"What?"

But the lights flare to life suddenly and I jump, trying to rub my eyes before remembering the mask. And it's so bright – brighter even than when the lights are normally on. It's soon understandable why. Mirrors. They're everywhere. And they aren't just the usual ones. They're like the ones from the party mixed with ordinary ones. And they're everywhere. We're in a maze of mirrors, like a fun house except this one is decidedly less fun.

"Oh my…" Gianna starts to say as Nicholas hyperventilates.

The holographic ones come to life as the lights dim to a normal glow. "Sorry about that," they singsong, "didn't mean to blind you. As you've noticed, you are now in a fun house. There are little…surprises hidden here and there. If you win, you escape. If you don't, you're in for a whole lot of fun. Please don't panic, all exits are clearly marked – and marked – and marked…have _fun_," it echoes.

"Holy shit," Damien curses ahead. I agree completely.

**7:53pm. Heidi's POV**

Pushing my pink mask onto my head, I take a deep, cleansing breath, and proceed to scream at the top of my lungs. Mirror-Heidi does a little spin in her identical pink dress before disappearing and being replaced by a normal reflection, only to appear in the mirror besides the one in front of me. I take a step back and bump into something solid.

I'm surrounded. Completely surrounded. I realize, suddenly, that I can't tell the difference between people and reflections and holograms. Someone screams and it seems far away.

"Odd! You're dead!" Sounds like a girl's voice. I've been in fun houses before. I reached out in front of me and touched glass.

"This is ridiculous." An older boy next to me (whom I didn't know was real until he brushed past) took a long stride forward, obviously aggravated, and slammed face first into a mirror that must have looked like a hallway. He covered his nose and growled.

Just like a fun house. Follow the face prints out.

**7:59:50pm. Odd's POV**

April in France is lovely, isn't that what all the tourists think? Maybe it is, if you live down in Provence or the Riviera, I think even Aquitaine is hospitable this time of year. Anything north of Grasse though? _Well_…that's an entirely different sort of weather all together. After all, we get hail. In July. The point is, April in France, _north_ France, isn't all sunshine and nude beaches, like the travel brochures promise (that's in the south). In fact it's the opposite. Grey skies, sad looking trees with barely any buds, and lots of cold, wet rain and slush kind of snow that usually freezes to roads.

It's really lovely though, in its own way. But, anyway, the whole point of bringing up the weather is to say that it's cold. In fact, this is one of our coldest springs (still really winter) in a long time. And I am freezing. Because stupid masquerade outfits offer nothing in the department of warmth. But I'm shoving all those thoughts away because staring at the monitors as everyone attempts to find their way out of the maze, it's spectacular. It's bloody brilliant (and really creepy) that the whole dorm is wired with security cameras and I can simply sit in the security room and observe my masterpiece.

Ulrich once told me that I should give up on music and instead study film and specialize in the horror genre. That was suggested after I pulled a haunting on Halloween night that left little kids in therapy and adults in night-light bedrooms. I'm thinking of taking him up on his suggestion though. But that's a moot point now because that's the future and I never worry about anything past the next meal as a principal. So, lets refrain, I'm sitting here, staring at the monitors, watching Heidi walk with her arms outstretched (very hot in that pink dress) and Damien trip over his oversized feet (dork) and Carmen wiggle and squirm around, trying to find a break in the glass (hot, definitely next to be asked out). But all I really want to see is Yumi and Jeremie (I'm too worried to see Ulrich's expression, maybe I should have given him a heads up) and their expressions in a total of three seconds, eight o'clock, when the whole ball drops.

Oh, look, Yumi's being destructive again.

**8:00pm. Tamiya's POV**

Back to back with Milly, I face a mirror that's reflecting people that are at opposite sides of the main hall, throwing light and sounds everywhere. It's given me a headache and I cannot believe we forgot the camera. You'd think after the years we've been at Kadic we'd have it at all times, but Milly insisted the dance would be Odd-free.

Wrong. Oh-so wrong. Odd is everywhere. He's mixed in with the reflections and the holograms and for fractions of seconds I'm almost sure I see him in with the crowd, but then he's gone.

"Looks like Yumi has a solution to get us out of here." I hear one of the boys close by whisper. I glance down the hall and see what must be a reflection of Yumi smashing the heel of her red heels into a pane of glass that refuses to break. Milly takes a step back and collides with another mirror that gives ways and spins her around with it.

"Tamiya?" I hear her pound against the back of the glass. I push on the front, but it doesn't budge. "Tamiya! Get me out of here! It's too bright!"

"I'm trying, Milly!" There's an echoed laugh that booms over us. I search for the source but fail to locate it.

"Beware of changing paths!" Odd warns cryptically. I'll change his paths.

"Milly? Try to find another way out, ok? I'll find you." I push against another mirror and it opens, revealing yet another hall full of mirrors and people. When I turn back around the corridor behind me is completely different. Just great. "Milly?" She doesn't answer and I realize I'm surrounded solely by holograms. "Mil? Milly? Anyone?"

**8:01pm. Sissi's POV**

The corridors are in complete chaos. It's really quite amusing, in a twisted way. No one expected Odd to escape because I'd made sure Daddy had seen to it that he wouldn't. Which just meant that he would, see? I shake my head slowly, black curls tickling my neck and gold earrings tinkling. You can't even hear them above the yells and screams. Don't they realize it's a labyrinth? That's what Odd called it anyway. His very own labyrinth - based off of King Jareth's, whoever he was.

He first told me about it a few months back, when we were drawing up the plans for how to design it and how to make sure there was a master key to all the rooms. Jim really should pay closer attention to where he lays his key ring. Or how the kitchen ladies should know better than to walk away from melting chocolate this time of year. As Odd had told me all those months ago, it would be too easy. Though he never did explain where he stashed the mirrors and I never really found it pertinent to ask.

I follow the corridor and enter the security room. He glances up in surprise, than gives a nod of acknowledgement. Our agreement was never one of familiar terms since we still detest one another. However I was bored at the time he suggested pairing up and he needed someone on the inside, who better than the head master's daughter? He's reclined in one of the seats, feet on the console.

"Is everything to your liking?" I demand, planting a hand on my hip as I study him.

"Yeah Sissi, you hit the button at just the right time. Come on, even you deserve to see Yumi's face," he replies. He leans forward, zooms in on a screen and I can't help but grin.

**8:02pm. Jeremie's POV**

I looked to the ceiling and noticed a flare of red in the normal mirrors. There was yelling and a loud banging noise. Ah, Yumi must be close-- A mirror spun me around face-to-face with a very angry looking Yumi Ishiyama, heel poised in her hand, ready to strike the glass again. I flinched, arms raised over my head to protect my face. She paused.

"Jeremie? There you are! I'm going to wring his neck, Jer! I'm going to hide his body in a remote location and they will never, ever find him!"

"Yumi, calm down. We have our revenge already. It's been put in motion. It's already done."

"What exactly did you do?" Ulrich interrupted from where he slouched against a nearby mirror. Emily looked slightly more interested in the conversation than before as Yumi opened her mouth to rant and explanation.

"Please, Ulrich. Can you not see I'm trying to talk common sense into her right now? All we need is to get her riled up over her revenge and set her off on another tangent," I explained. Yumi glared at me, slumping against a mirror.

"I'm right here you know," she growled. I gave her a weak grin and seized one of the shoes from her hand before she could take another swing at glass.

"I know you are; you're going to get hurt if you keep destroying things. Now I know how to get out of here. At least I should. Has anyone seen Aelita?" Everyone stared blankly at me for a moment before every spine when straight.

"She was in on it _again_!" Emily shrieked. Ulrich rubbed his eyes.

"I knew it. And he left me to hang." Yumi was fuming, arms flailing, face bright red.

"Ugh! Some best friend! She could have at least dropped a hint! We should have known Jer!" We really should have after so many years of this.

"Well, at least I can get us out of here. The mirrors move on diagonal turns, directions changing sixty degrees every turn. If Aelita helped set up the systems that move the mirrors, than all we have to do to get out of here is keep moving in time with the dimensions according to an escalating scale of twenty three point six percent every…Why are you staring at me like that?" That's the same look they always give me when I come up with a plan. Blank, confused, empty stares.

"Just…whatever it is we have to do, we'll do; just show us where to go." Yumi was rational again, seeming to have snapped out of her state of rage momentarily.

"Turn left at every corridor when the mirrors change and we'll be out in approximately eight minutes." I hoped at least _one_ of them understood_ that_ much, but I guess not. I overestimate them some days.

"You're telling me all we have to do to get--"

"And now, ladies and gentlemen! What you've waited all year for!" _he_ boomed over the dorm halls. A frightened silence fell over the dorms.

"Oh no," Emily groaned.

"It's grand finale time! I believe a little pay back is in order for the hazing of your king last year." There was a wicked laugh before the lights flicked out of control. Just at the wrong moment, I glanced up at the ceiling mirrors. They fell on left hinges, opening down and releasing some sort of white goo that plastered the student populace, leaving us drenched in a sticky, off white substance that gave off a rotten smell.

Shrieking and cursing filled the halls. Yumi threw her hands up in the air and dropped on to the ground near tears. "Eggs," she said, voice cracking. "And…" she rubbed her fingers together, face twisted up at the smell. "Baby powder. How appropriate. The _infant_ won't even face up to his punishment." She looked up hopelessly, first at Ulrich and then to me. "I hate him."

"Tomorrow, Yumi," I reminded her. At this point it was all I could do to keep her from having a mental breakdown and losing it. We do not need a repeat of last year. I took a step forward, shaking some of the mixture from my hands, only to step in it and slide on to the ground. Ulrich growled, attempting to get it off his face and Emily gagged, running her fingers through her matted, gooey hair. There was more cursing and screaming from down the hall that seemed to be moving towards us.

"Angry mob?" Yumi guessed, dryly. She was obviously not amused. I took my glasses off and attempted to wipe them off. However futile, I still wanted to see to find my way out of Odd's house of horrors. There was a popping noise and before I even had a chance to look, colorful crêpe paper confetti was raining down on us, sticking to the concoction that covered our bodies. I felt it fall onto my head as I watched it cover my friends. I took a deep breath and reminded _myself_ this time,

"Tomorrow. Our revenge is tomorrow. If he's dead, the revenge will do us no good." And with that I watched as Yumi got to her feet, took a step back, positioned her self, and kicked down a mirror.

**8:05pm. Emily's POV.**

"You don't really believe it was Aelita, do you?" I ask softly. We're trailing a few feet behind Jeremie, who's following Bulldozer Yumi. "Even after what I told you earlier?"

He heaves a shallow sigh and turns to face me. The too-bright light reflects off his eyes and I have to swallow and look away. Yumi's kicking at a mirror and Jeremie's trying to placate her while absently rubbing away a headache. "Yumi," he coaxes. "Yumi, the mirrors are about to change and you'll get separated if you don't stop. Yumi!"

A warm weight on my shoulder causes me to turn partway to stare at him again. He offers a small smile that isn't all that self-assured or reassuring. "I don't think its Aelita," he says softly. "And not just because he never requests the help of the same person either, especially two years in a row." He continues before I can point out that he helped last year as well. "But I don't think it's Yumi either because Odd usually takes better care of his minions than leaving them covered in eggs, paper, and powder."

"Yeah," I agree half-heartedly. I won't admit that Odd's morals are a little lacking, everyone already knows they are. Ulrich should know that they are. I mean, he helped two years, maybe even this year as well, and he's still covered in a disgusting concoction like the rest of us. I offer him a tight smile in return.

"Now, who is it that hasn't been thoroughly humiliated this year?" he questions. I stop to think about it but can't come up with anything. It's amazing how much damage can be inflicted within one measly twenty-four hour period. Not even a full twenty-four hours. Only a school day and night. "You know who I think it is?"

"No, who?"

He opens his mouth to speak but the walls around us shift with a grating sound. People scream, names are called, and I'm shoved aside as a mirror moves. But we aren't separated, just located in another mirrored hallway. I never knew there was this much room in the dorm. I can hear the teachers now, yelling and cursing in a multitude of accents and languages. Lovely. Ulrich has an arm around me, supporting me as I try to regain my footing on the gooey floor. Odd owes me a refund for the dress he just ruined.

A cough sounds to my left and I look to see Jeremie looking at us strangely and Yumi going red beneath the white powder and crepe paper. Joy. "Shouldn't we be focusing on getting out of here?" she demands icily. I know she's right and I push away from Ulrich once my footing has stabilized but my eyes are drawn to a point behind her. "Ulrich, why don't you help me with the mirrors," she grinds out. Her voice is sweet as saccharine and it penetrates my brain but the images dancing across the mirrors don't seem to.

"Uh, guys…?" I try. Ulrich glances at me, Jeremie too, but Yumi's still focused on Ulrich. "Look at the mirrors."

**8:07pm. Jim's POV**

I should have stayed outside. After a search of the woods, the staff was ordered to move into the dorms to make sure everything was under control. I should have stayed outside.

As soon as we were in the side doors of the dorm building, my self and Ms. Hertz that is, the blinding mirrors moved around us and we were shuffled to where some of the students were covered in… Well I'm not really sure what they're covered in. Ms. Hertz tugged, mortified, on the sleeve of my shirt, pointing to the mirrors.

There was some sort of film playing. Yumi Ishiyama was jumping up and down outside of the school. She was clawing at a poster madly trying to get it down. I recognized the face. It was an older picture of Yumi, in a pink ballet outfit, tutu included. Finally, the picture came down and she crumbled it into a large paper ball, yelling out at Della Robbia in Japanese. I'm not even sure I want to know what she was saying. William Dunbar was in the background of the scene, covering his mouth to keep back laughter. He was failing miserably.

That scene faded away and was replaced by a series of students holding their throats in the lunch room, glasses turned over on tables, then to the sight of the court yard covered in an orange paint, people running around in the chaos.

"Where on earth did he get all these mirrors?" I muttered. One of the students, I believe it might have been Milly but she was hard to recognize in whatever it is she was covered in, glared.

There was a flash of her from a few years ago, covered head to toe in paint. That changes to a video of Theo Gauthier in a pink dress…. And then me in my old disco outfit… I'd rather not talk about it. Among the rest are pictures of Mr. Delmas with purple hair.

There was a scream from somewhere in the hall and I backed against a mirror, it gave way and opened to another student-packed space.

"Jim! Get us out of here!" I'd love too, if I knew how to get myself out of here.

**8:10pm. Yumi's POV.**

I'm going to strangle him with the purple feather boa he wore last Halloween. I'm going to knock him unconscious with those ridiculous yellow shoes of his. I'm going to stuff his mouth full of those disgusting candies he enjoys so much. I'll kidnap Kiwi and teach him to attack the hand that feeds him, which hopefully isn't Ulrich. Or maybe Kiwi biting Ulrich wouldn't be that bad since it might get Ulrich thinking again. That is, thinking about someone _besides_ Emily Leduc who he's talking nonstop with. Maybe I'll strangle them _both_ with the feather boa.

The video switches again, projecting Emily in a cucumber mask and practicing on a violin. I will not admit that she's any good. Ulrich winces as we next see Herve strutting about his room shirtless and singing something that sounds remotely like the Backstreet Boys, not that I'm a fan or anything. Jeremie's video is next and he's sprawled over a textbook snoring and drooling and muttering Aelita's name. I'm glad she's not here judging by the blush staining the blonde's face. Emily gives him a sympathetic look.

"I'm going to murder him."

"If you escape," Ulrich comments softly. "Somehow I doubt Odd will want you getting out to hunt him down."

"Watch me," I growl. I aim a kick at the mirror and it spins around, revealing Theo and Heidi in mid lip-lock. Well, at least someone's getting use out of the commotion. I turn around to see if they're following and Ulrich's whispering something to Emily and her eyes are widening as she nods. "Care to share with the rest of us Ulrich-dear?"

"Er…"

"Why don't we focus on getting out, you can kill him, them, later, okay Yumi?" Jeremie asks.

"Fine, sure, whatever," I grumble. I glare at them in the mirror but they don't notice and I feel that they're plotting something. Since they're apparently oblivious, I grab Jer and start to talk to him. "I think they're planning something. Maybe they're in league with Odd again. Maybe all _three_ of them are in league with Odd this year. I haven't seen anything truly awful about Ulrich on these stupid mirrors, have you?"

"Yumi, you're just being paranoid. Maybe they're discussing Hertz's latest assignment…"

"She's a year older."

"Maybe another assignment then, or gym class? How should I know? Just relax, mirror-change time." There's a creak and a hiss as the mirrors move and I jump back, almost knocking Jeremie over. I'd rather it was Emily. But my attention is diverted because there's _light_ and not mirror-reflected light.

We're out.

**8:13pm. Jeremie's POV.**

The only tangible thought in my mind is, _Thank God. _We're out. We're out and alive and this night is _over._ I looked over to Yumi; her eyes were closed, face tilted up at the sky.

"I've never been so happy to be outside in my entire life," she sighs.

"Yeah, but now what?" Ulrich mumbled. Yumi opened her eyes casually, glancing between Emily and Ulrich and finally back to me.

"Jer? Call Elise and tell her we were mistaken, he's able to volunteer until summer as appose to just two weeks. She'll be thrilled." The other two looked skeptical but I can't say I don't completely agree with her.

"Revenge?" Emily asked, trying futilely to brush some more of Odd's prank out of her hair with her fingertips. Yumi shrugged, picking up the hem of her dress so she could move out of the shadow of the school. The sun had been down for barely a half hour and the air had picked up a chill.

"I'm going home and taking a hot shower. I have a guest room and a living room floor that you are all welcome to, but you will be subjected to Hiroki, possibly Johnny, weird looks from my mother and embarrassing questions from my father," Yumi offered. I quirked an eyebrow.

"But no Odd-style tar and feathering?"

"I make no promises." Emily looked even more skeptical than before.

"Well, I defiantly don't think I'll be going back into the dorms until they can get all the mirrors down."

"Not until the smash every last one down. To do that they actually have to get out first." Ulrich folded his arms, glancing around the school grounds. "And Odd will be so upset that we were the first ones to escape," Yumi sneered happily.

"Are you guys coming? Or would you rather wait around to see Odd's encore?"

**8:15pm. Ulrich's POV**

We're leaving the dorm slowly, goo squishing from shoes and Emily is muttering under her breath. At this point I'm not sure what language it's in and I'd really rather not know if her tone is anything to go by. On the other hand, Yumi is practically _dancing_ from escaping. She's bouncing around, twirling with Jeremie, than myself, she even hugs Emily. I'm not sure which girl is more surprised when they pull apart but my money's on Emily. She shoots me a confused look over Yumi's shoulder when she isn't paying attention.

"I can't wait to get home. I don't care what my parents say; I am taking the longest, hottest shower in the…Sissi?"

"What?" I ask. But she doesn't have to answer since I see her, Sissi that is, approaching from around the side of the building. "Sissi?" I question stupidly. Jeremie and Emily stop next to us.

"Oh, Ulrich! I'm so glad you're okay…why are you covered in goo?"

"What are you doing here Sissi?" Emily demands.

"Well, I'd gone to see Daddy after the dance, but when I came back to go in, all the doors were locked and there were screams coming from inside!" Her face trembled slightly. "Oh, Ulrich-dear, I was _so_ worried for you!" She ran over and one of the most amazing things to happen since I've known Sissi occurred.

She hugged me.

Elisabeth Delmas, spoiled girl that she is, hugged me. When I was _covered_ in Odd's mess. I really couldn't believe that she would willingly touch someone covered in goo, especially if she's all dressed up. But I soon realize two things: It's an act, and she's a wonderful liar. She slips a piece of paper in my hand, hugging me tighter and Yumi's eyes narrow dangerously. I notice her grip also tightens on the shoe in her hand.

"It's where to go. Escape when everyone else gets out. Tell Emily. Odd's idea." She pulls away after her hurried whispering in my ear and makes a face. "_Ew_. _Gross_. I'm positively_ covered_ in this gunk!" I hide the note in my pocket (amazingly dry) as Yumi's arms cross. Great.

**8:17pm Yumi's POV  
**  
We decide to cut though the woods, taking the park path home. Ulrich shrugs off Sissi's strange behavior as bad punch. Ugh, maybe that's my problem tonight. As we near the edge of the campus, I can hear kids exiting the mirror maze that is the dorm. There's pandemonium among the students. A few of the teachers are on bullhorns trying to maintain some sort of order within the chaos. Jeremie and I are already past the first line of trees when Ulrich stops. Emily stops right after him, following his gaze to the crowd.

"Would you two hurry up?" Jeremie sighs and Ulrich glances up.

"Sorry, Yumi. Delmas said something about Odd. I thought maybe they'd found him."

"No one leaves campus!" Delmas yells into the crowd. Awesome. I sink farther into the woods so as not to be seen.

"Stern! Leduc! Where do you think you're going? You heard the principal! Get over here now!" Jim yells in a bombing voice. Emily gives us a panicked and fleeting look. I search until I meet Ulrich's eyes.

"Busted. You guys go, he didn't see you." Suddenly a small amount of fear grips me. Risking exposure, I run a few steps forward and steal a chaste kiss.

"Be careful," I warn. "I'm sure Odd's not done." He gives me a gentle push back towards the woods.

"We will. Now go before they see you. We'll catch up if we –"

"Ishiyama! Belpois! I see you too! You think I'm blind?!" Jim barked. Oh great. Jeremie growls under his breath. I give him a guilty look. We're quickly moved to a mass of people. Everyone's wearing the same annoyed, angry expressions and demanding Odd be shot or hung. There will obviously be no self control in this group.

"Quiet down!" Jim yells. The roar falls to a quiet hum of profanities and graphic death scenes all staring Odd. Suddenly I realize the fact we're out in the open, and my earlier fears reclaim me. I glance at Ulrich sharply and then to Jeremie, but they're both standing, horrified looks on their faces.

**8:20pm. Emily's POV.**

"Oh…_wow_." The students are covered in substances better left unsaid. Jeremie wipes his glasses and glares at us. Yumi fumes, arms crossed and eyes slits. Perfect. Maybe next year I'll break something and stay in the hospital today.

"I can't believe you got us caught!" Yumi yells at me. "I could be halfway home, halfway to my _shower_ and _clean_ bed. But you got us _caught!_"

"Lay off Yumi," Ulrich grumbles. "I got us caught too, remember that. And, at least we aren't as bad off as they are."

"We could be _worse_ if Odd isn't done unleashing crap on us!" she yells. Her cheeks are red beneath the goop. "Look," she growls. "There's no way that Jim will let us escape together, or even take his eyes off us if we stay together. We'll split up in pairs, okay? Meet back at my house. Do _not_ get caught." Her eyes catch mine and Ulrich's.

"Okay," Ulrich agrees. "I'll go with Em, you and Jer take that side and we'll go this way." He seems to sure of himself and I have a sneaky suspicion but it doesn't matter now.

"You and _Emily_?" Yumi demands. Ulrich flashes her an easy grin and she groans aloud. "Fine, you two together then. Be careful Ulrich." She leans over, pressing her lips to first his cheek, then his own mouth. I glance away, at the crowd of students threatening lawsuits. "I love you."

"Yeah, me too," he mumbles. And then we're separating and his face is set grimly and I swallow as he grabs my elbow, steering me around this clump of goo and that group of profanity.

"I think Yumi's staking her claim on you," I tell Ulrich softly. He laughs drily and we fall silent. I look across the group of students and see Yumi and Jeremie slipping through bushes by the dorm wall, Jims eyes fixed on something else.

There's a rustle in the bushes and I frown, trying to see but Ulrich turns me to him suddenly. "This is Odd's idea, okay? Take this note and follow what it says. He wouldn't forget about you after last year."

"Fantastic," I mutter, gesturing to my dress. He smiles.

"Send Odd the bill. Go on." He pushes me slightly. "Before Jim looks."

"Forget it. I don't know what's going on, but I have my suspicions. If I leave you behind Yumi'll kill me. Come on, you're coming too." I grab his arm, pulling him into the bushes and behind one of the utility sheds before Jim sees us.

**8:30pm.** **Yumi's POV**

"Odd's taken this way too far." I sigh, seizing the hem of my dress before I trip over it again.

"I know. It's getting to the point where it's almost dangerous. I hope no one got hurt..." We break through the path and are left out in the open a block from the house. I'm sure the neighbors are enjoying the gossip already. I'll be the latest scandal by morning. We reach the house and I take my house key from the front of my dress. Jeremie gives me another look before shaking his head and peeling off his dress shoes in the doorway.

"Mom? Dance ended early," I call into the house. Mom peaks out of the kitchen, coffee cup in hand.

"What on earth happened to the two of _you_?" She looks torn between yelling and bursting into laughter.

"Hello, Mrs. Ishiyama," Jeremie greets politely.

"Odd; what else? Feel like sharing that?" Oh, coffee looks so good right now. She waved the cup in front of me as she moved into the living room.

"I'll take Mom and Dad's bathroom. You can have mine. I'll get the emergency bag out of my closet."

"I'll get the bag. You two get cleaned up first. I don't want… whatever it is you're covered in all over the house. Next year I'm just throwing you all in the pool before you come inside." I smile at my mother for not pressing her questions and just letting it be. Dropping my heels and mask to the floor by the door, I lead Jeremie up the stairs. A half hour, two hot showers, clean changes of pajamas and a garbage bag full of muck covered clothes later we were sitting on either end of the sofa, coffee in hand.

"Is it over?" Jer asked. I sighed, sinking into one of the pillows.

"It's over."

**Ulrich's POV 8:41pm**

This was going to end so badly. My cell phone was shot - Odd was so paying for the replacement- and I needed to get a hold of Yumi still. We entered the auditorium from the stage door that was unlocked for us. Emily shuffled her feet behind me. I could see I was being used as a human shield.

"Odd? Are you here?" The house lights came on with a buzz. Flickering to life. Odd appeared from behind the curtains and I sighed. "Always a grand entrance." He grinned. From behind me, Emily lunged forward, hands poised to strangle him. I made no move to stop her, and luck for Odd, he side stepped her attack just in time.

"I'll kill you Odd!"

"Oh! Hi Em!"

"Don't you 'Hi Em' me you little rat!" She swiped at him again.

"A little help, Ulrich? Good buddy?" Help? Maybe when I'm clean. Emily hiked up her dress with a sneer and flung some of the goo we were covered in at him when she tossed her hair.  
"Hey!" Odd protested. "I brought you towels!" He motioned to the wings where a stack of towels had been unceremoniously dropped near one of the stage lights. Emily simply glared, stomping over to claim one.

"Are you finished now?" I asked Odd, getting my own towel. He grinned, giving me a semi-guilty look.

"Yes, April first 2008 has finally come to an end." Thank _God. _Then he turned on his heel, and smiling like the fool he is, exits stage left.

**April 2****nd**** – 7:00am. Odd's POV**

I'm camped out in my lovely little nest (the one I built a week or so ago in part of the factory). I can only imagine what my punishment will be this year, but they all have to admit, I was genius. Honestly, Xana could learn a few things about plotting (and not getting caught) from me. Hm… No. I will _not_ even contemplate teaming up with that world-domination-obsessed computer virus. Though _The Great and Almighty King Odd of Trickery_ does have a very nice ring to it, if I do say so myself. Which I do so say.

I stretch lazily and glance around my surroundings. As far as I can figure Jer doesn't have this area camera-ed so I should be safe for awhile. At least until the heat dies down some. Sissi's free to do as she pleases. She helped (with the understanding that she would be removed from the pranks and not be found out like Ulrich or Aelita) and she escaped unscathed. She told me she was staying with her father. Smart girl. I have to be nicer to her, especially with last year and this year. God, I'm turning into a Sentimental Fool. No, no, no. I must be a Prankster Fool, not a Sentimental Fool.

I hear the factory door open and tense almost immediately. Don't tell me Jer installed _hidden_ cameras in a decrepit factory. That would be _so_ like him – ruining my perfectly good plans by doing something nerdy. But I don't have to worry because it's just Ulrich. Looking clean and dry and mildly amused. He glances around and finally follows my incessant whistling to the catwalk I have procured.

"How was your night?" I ask almost immediately.

"Emily finally shut-up about you and your death. We slept in the auditorium. Class is canceled today because of clean-up. Delmas is giving a reward for whoever finds and turns you in. And Yumi and Jeremie are pissed at Emily and me for some reason. Sissi is not suspected," he finishes.

I grin at him. "Going to turn me in for the reward then?"

"Nah. What would I do with all that money anyway?" He stretches and spies the bag of Cheetos. His weakness. He starts devouring them almost immediately. "You've gone over the top once again. Emily's pissed at you for it."

"She'll get over it. Hold on," I say as my phone rings. "Hello?" I guess my face blanches noticeably because Ulrich's shooting me a curious look and has abandoned the white cheddar Cheetos. "Oh…uh. What? No. I never signed up…No, I understand but…Are you sure because… Oh. Uh-huh. Right. Yeah, I guess so…Okay."

"Who was it?"

"Someone named Elise. Claims I've been selected to watch a bunch of kids for three months. Starting this week. Why?" Ulrich starts snorting and chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"Jeremie and Yumi."

"They wouldn't."

"They did." I stare at him, start whining about how I don't want to spend my life watching _kids_ and it makes him laugh harder so his precious Cheetos fall all over the floor. I hope it pains him as much as this will pain me. "Look, I'm sorry. I knew they were planning something, just not this. Serves you right for what you did to Em and me."

"Oh, grow up Ulrich. This is disastrous! _Kids_! And anyway, I won't get you _or_ Emily with any messy pranks next year, okay? I swear."

"Good."

We recline back and I don't question him for staying with me. Maybe Yumi really _is_ pissed at him. Oh well. "You know…"

"What?"

I stick my tongue out at him. "Do you think they'd be expecting something for Halloween?"

He gives me a look like he's just seen the bloody ghost of bloody Christmas past. "Odd, no." But he's already grinning and so am I.

"Yes Ulrich, yes."


	3. Answers

1. What prank does Sam get detention for?

Answer: Putting the staff cars on the roof. Naughty, naughty Sammie.

2. From what does Odd guarantee Ulrich will die of?

Answer: A heart attack at age 35 because he worries too much. Poor Ulrich.

3. What color was Theo's first dress?

Answer: Sissi's (Lune-Solei always pictured it as canary yellow but you may have imagined it otherwise) yellow dress. Of course, this is the first known one, perhaps before he wore others? O.o

4. Why did Aelita betray Odd?

Answer: No one got this! It was actually a trick question because Aelita never actually betrayed Odd. She and Odd had already decided to tell the others their plans, or a false set of plans, to trick them which is what she did. Now, the circumstances surrounding the false betrayal were because Odd supposedly did a slide show of Aelita's embarrassing moments as well as the posters of Yumi all over the school. But no betrayal in fact was actually reached.

5. In Sam's opinion, what was one of Odd's better jobs?

Answer: Ulrich and Yumi's (in Lune-Solei's humble opinion, untimely) relationship.

6. What was the first object mentioned that Odd was struck in the head with?

Answer: A book (RenaYumi: At least as far as we know since there must have been some in infancy as well).

7. How long did Sissi agree to stay away from Ulrich after Yumi told her how to get the Kool-aid off her face?

Answer: A month. One long, terribly tedious month in which she went into withdrawal and it was horribly unsightly but she managed to survive thank goodness. (RenaYumi: And Yumi spent every moment enjoying the peace and silence that was her absence)

8. Who started the prank on Odd in The April Fool Two?

Answer: Sam was the delightfully devious designer of the prank.

9. What instruments does Emily play?

Answer: Once again, no one got this question completely correct. The instruments are flute, piano (though she has a keyboard in her room since a piano's too big), guitar, and the one _everyone_ missed: violin. (Lune-Solei also imagines other instruments: cello, bassoon, oboe, clarinet, etc. but those are all that's mentioned.)

10. Why is it bad to prank your roommate?

Answer: Because it's horrible sharing a bedroom with an enemy since you have to sleep with them (And yes, take that anyway you want. It's open to interpretation but sh! Don't tell Rena!).

Also: From people who have been reviewing we have gathered that many questions have arised as to where exactly Aelita went. We thought we had made this clear, but since apparently we hadn't made it so, I'll tell you here. She followed Odd's advice and hid out at Yumi's. Mrs. Ishiyama was very surprised when she opened her door to find Aelita there but allowed her to stay and this is why Yumi's mom wasn't completely confused when Yumi and Jeremie turned up soggy later. By then, we imagine, that Aelita was already sound asleep. The following morning all three were surprised to see each other (Aelita had slept in Yumi's bed and Yumi and Jer had crashed on the couch, dropping their coffee cups. Thank goodness the mugs were empty!) at the kitchen table. After interrogating her they discovered what Odd had told her (minus the mirrors) and Jeremie and Yumi stopped talking to her for a week. Of course she just hung out with Odd, Emily, and Ulrich, even Sissi, and Jeremie and Yumi eventually forgave them because they thought the sight of the five of them together was much to strange. Sadly, Odd didn't forgive quite so easily over the revenge... I hope this answers any and all questions!

Well, there are our answers to our lovely little hunt. Now, we were saddened by how many of you didn't participate so we pose the question of: should we do something like this next year or no? Thank you once more for reading and enjoying our insanity.

Fondly,

The Mad Mistresses of Mayhem: Lune-Solei and RenaYumi


End file.
